A/N: Chapter ten! Short, but there it is. A huge thanks to my beta SailorSweetie for her help in checking this for me! :D

Goblins Above

Chapter 10: The Queen's Goblin Guard

"Jareth looked to his daughter. "Melina, once you are finished, I thought we might work on your magic, if that is agreeable to you?" Jareth was a little worried that she might not want to; but that fear was quickly dashed and his heart warmed when her face lit up and she happily said, "Yes, Daddy!""

Leah sat quietly on a park bench, her hands clasped, and her heart aching. Aching, and there was nothing she could do about it. The cold autumn breeze ruffled her now chin length black hair, and the collar of her coat flapped haphazardly. Her heart ached as she watched a group of children playing in the nearby playground from her place at a picnic table. The children's dark and light heads weaved between the seesaws and monkey bars, a game of tag in progress.

Leah's eyes traveled over to a woman with long, dark brown hair, and features a little like her own. This was her sister, Eliza. Eliza was watching her children as they played, and talking to Leah's mother, who stood next to her. The queen was carefully out of sight of her mother—not wanting a repeat of the last time they'd met.

Sighing, Leah stepped down from the picnic table and came to her feet; crunching leaves beneath her boots. She'd try and talk to her sister when their mother wasn't around. Hopefully she could jog some memories, then. Sticking her hands in her coat pockets, Leah left the playground. But before she did, she passed a part of the playground where one of her nieces was playing. For one sort of bizarre moment, their eyes met. Leah's steps faltered briefly, and she paused as she stared back at the child.

The little girl's smile faded and she looked at Leah strangely. To her, Leah was just another passerby. Leah smiled at her and gave a little wave, but the girl just frowned and lowered her brow at Leah in a comical glower—she did that when she didn't know someone. If the situation had been different, if the girl had remembered her, it would have made Leah laugh—it was so cute—but in this instance, it just made her heart pang all the more. One of the girl's siblings called to the girl, and her dark brown hair swayed when she turned around and ran to join the other children in a new game. Leah exhaled the breath she'd been holding, and hunched down into her coat. She strode away, trying to ignore the pain in her chest and the sudden blurriness of the path before her.

Swallowing, she was beginning to feel that Jareth was right. Her family didn't remember her-would likely never remember her. She choked down a sob as she left the park, and swiped quickly at her eyes. "Stop it." She muttered to herself angrily. "Don't you dare give up!" She'd try, one last time—for Eliza.

Jareth tapped his swagger stick methodically against his long black boot, his chin in his hand and his eyes distant. The goblin chaos around him kept to a dull roar, and after years of adapting to this, Jareth found that it only aided him in tuning them out and focusing on his thoughts. Leah was obviously not safe Above by herself—her little escapade had proved that much to him—and he was determined to keep such a thing from happening again. Jareth's lips pressed together to become a thin line. The Goblin King was annoyed with himself for letting her go Above at all in the first place; he'd known it was a bad idea from the very beginning.

The memory of Leah's frightened eyes as she told him about her nightmares came to Jareth's mind, and the husband frowned, the leather of his gloves squeaking as his grip on his swagger stick tightened. She had been so afraid that something had happened to them, that he'd eventually, grudgingly, relented. Jareth sighed. 'Those eyes will be the end of me...' He thought with a sigh.

He'd have to keep a closer eye on her. But between strengthening the Labyrinth's defenses, and teaching Melina and Leo defensive magic—he could only manage to look in on her through his crystals from time to time—and even less often as time went on. An unpleasant feeling crept into his chest and he shifted in his seat in alarmed discomfort. He growled at the feeling. He was afraid something might happen to her.

With these thoughts, he made up his mind and sat up quickly in his throne, looking down at the goblin horde. "Quiet!" He shouted, and they immediately grew still. "Spatch, Button, and Squeak. Come here." He ordered firmly. Seeing they weren't in trouble, the rest of the goblins carried on in their various activities, giving the three up without much concern. The three goblins anxiously but rapidly approached—thinking they must be in trouble.

Once they'd clumsily lined up before the king, he leaned forward to give them all a very stern look. "I've a task for the three of you. It's about the Queen." Spatch, Button, and Squeak immediately grew more alert, and Jareth was comforted in the knowledge that they cared a great deal for his wife. All of the goblins loved her—at least, none had said otherwise, to his knowledge. But these three had a special relationship with her; being that they were among the ones who'd brought her to the Underground, and had bonded with her early on.

Jareth peered hard at them, "I want you to go to the Above and keep an eye on the Queen." Their brows furrowed in confusion and they exchanged wary looks. Jareth ignored it, continuing, "But don't let her see you or know that you're there. Report back to me anything she does and anyone she meets. Especially any men." He finished with a slightly threatening growl.

Jareth remembered their conversations about coming Above. He had been so preoccupied with her leaving—to the point that he hadn't really thought about all the other mortal men. He thought about them now. His teeth ground together. In his defense, it hadn't been a strong concern at the time. He hadn't wanted her to leave at all; at least not without him. But someone had to be with her.

"We keep Queeny safe!" Spatch said, the Queen's Goblin Guard each saluting in his own way. Spatch had correctly managed a clumsy one, but Button seemed to think that firmly shoving his finger up his nose and looking noble was the right way, and Squeak—well, Squeak settled for very solemnly scratching his buttocks. Jareth sighed internally, and rubbed his eyes.

Gods, he hoped his wife would come home soon.

A/N: Review to let me know what you think. More to come soon! (Seriously—these chapters are just flying from my fingertips!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth. That won't change. ;)